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your Bibles to 1st Kings chapter 
22. Finishing up the life of Ahab, we looked at 1 Kings 21 
on the day that we looked at Stephen's defense, or rather 
his arrest, seeing the parallels between Stephen and Naboth in 
1 Kings 21. I thought it would be good for 
us to see the end of Ahab, how it all turned out with reference 
to him. As Elijah the Tishbite had prophesied 
in 1 Kings 21, that Ahab would in fact die. Well, that is recorded 
for us. here in 1 Kings 22. I'll begin 
reading in verse 29. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, 
the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of 
Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, 
but you put on your robes. So the king of battle, the king 
of Israel rather, disguised himself and went into battle. Now the 
king of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of his chariot, saying, 
Fight with no one, small or great, but only with the king of Israel. 
So it was when the captains of the chariot saw Jehoshaphat that 
they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned 
aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, And 
it happened, when the captains of the chariot saw that it was 
not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing 
him. Now a certain man drew a bow at random and struck the king 
of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the 
driver of his chariot, turn around and take me out of the battle, 
for I am wounded. The battle increased that day, 
and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, 
and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound 
onto the floor of the chariot. Then as the sun was going down, 
a shout went throughout the army, saying, every man to his city 
and every man to his own country. So the king died and was brought 
to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. Then someone 
washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked 
up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word 
of the Lord which he had spoken. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab 
and all that he did, the ivory house which he built and all 
the cities that he built, are they not written in the book 
of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab rested with 
his fathers. Then Ahaziah, his son, reigned 
in his place. Jehoshaphat, the son of Esau, 
had become king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king 
of Israel. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old 
when he became king, and he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother's 
name was Azabah, the daughter of Shilhai, and he walked in 
all the ways of his father Esau. He did not turn aside from them, 
doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless, the 
high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices 
and burned incense on the high places. Also, Jehoshaphat made 
peace with the king of Israel. Now, the rest of the acts of 
Jehoshaphat, the might that he showed, and how he made war, 
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings 
of Judah? And the rest of the perverted persons who remained 
in the days of his father Asa, he banished from the land. There 
was then no king in Edom, only a deputy of the king. Jehoshaphat 
made merchant ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never 
sailed, for the ships were wrecked at Etzion Geber. Then Ahaziah, 
the son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your 
servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. And 
Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers 
in the city of David his father. Then Jehoram his son reigned 
in his place. Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, became 
king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, 
king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. He did evil 
in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, 
and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the 
son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. For he served Baal and worshipped 
him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according 
to all that his father had done. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, thank you for the written word. Thank you for both 
the Old and the New Testaments. And we would pray tonight that 
you'd help us to learn good lessons from this death of Ahab, and 
from the many ways the folly of Jehoshaphat. We would pray, 
Father in heaven, that you would help us to be careful in our 
Christian lives, help us to be faithful to the God who has saved 
us, help us to bring glory unto you. And we would pray for the 
Holy Spirit now to help, to guide, to lead, and to direct us as 
we consider the word of truth. And we ask in the name of Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, as I mentioned earlier, 
the prophet Elijah had said that Ahab would die in 1 Kings chapter 
21, and in the first half of this particular chapter, we see 
as well the prophetic pronouncement that Ahab was going to die. Remember, 
there is this alliance between Israel and Judah, and Israel 
is represented by King Ahab. Judah is led by King Jehoshaphat. And at the beginning of chapter 
22, Ahab wants to enter into this alliance with Jehoshaphat 
to go and liberate Ramoth Gilead. It was presently under Syrian 
occupation. And so Ahab wants to go and get 
Ramoth Gilead back. So Jehoshaphat enters into this 
alliance with Ahab. But of course, Jehoshaphat being 
a godly king, we see that there in the description beginning 
in verse 41. As a godly king, he wants the prophetic word. 
He wants to know the Lord's mind on this. And so, of course, Ahab 
has toadies. He has false prophets that are 
going to tell him exactly what he wants to hear. And these men 
come, and to a man, they all say, yeah, go into battle. You're 
going to win. You're going to liberate Ramoth 
Gilead, and everything's going to be wonderful. Well, Jehoshaphat 
asks, well, is there any other prophet? And of course, Ahab 
says, yeah, there's one, but I hate him. Because he never 
tells me what I want to hear. He only tells me the truth. That's 
a pretty bad admission or candid statement, but that is Micaiah 
the prophet. Now, Micaiah the prophet obviously 
prophesies to Ahab that he's going to die in battle. And for 
that, for that truth-telling, Micaiah gets slapped on the face, 
he gets put into prison, and he's given rations of bread and 
water. So now we pick up in the story where Ahab and Jehoshaphat 
are going to go to Ramoth Gilead in order to engage this battle. So I want to look first at the 
death of Ahab in verses 29 to 40, and then finally or secondly 
the reigns of Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah in verses 41 to 54. I 
think there's a lot of good practical lessons here that we can glean 
from this passage in 1 Kings 22, but note first this alliance 
between Ahab and Jehoshaphat in verse 29. So the king of Israel 
and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth, Gilead. So the rejection of the true 
prophet of God, Micaiah, he said, if you go into battle, you will 
die. So obviously, Ahab disregards 
that. Obviously, Ahab has no time for 
that. Obviously, Ahab is more inclined to listen to the 400 
false prophets that say, go ahead and go into battle because everything's 
going to be OK. Everything is going to be just 
peachy. The reception of the false prophets, including Zedekiah 
with his horns of iron and his display of victory in terms of 
Israel's army. And then we see the king of Judah 
respond favorably to this, and this is quite intriguing. Ahab's 
report concerning Micaiah in verse 18, and the multitude of 
false prophets make an impression on Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was 
the voice of reason to initially ask for the prophetic word. The 
400 false prophets testify, and yet this man Jehoshaphat sides 
with the false prophet testimony. This indicates, or this illustrates 
to us, that true piety is not always accompanied by good sense. Now, good sense is not a substitute 
for true piety, but true piety without good sense leads to the 
sorts of things that we see Jehoshaphat undertake in this particular 
section of Holy Scripture. We ought to pray to the Lord 
that our piety would be true, that our righteousness would 
be good, but that we would have good sense. that we would operate 
according to wisdom, that we would function in a manner consistent 
with the Word of God in its entirety. Matthew Henry says, that pious 
prince, talking about Jehoshaphat, who had desired to inquire by 
a prophet of the Lord, as disrelishing and discrediting Ahab's prophets, 
should yet proceed after so fair a warning, is a matter of astonishment. In other words, they heard the 
true prophetic word uttered by this man Micaiah, and Jehoshaphat 
nevertheless resists that and enters into this alliance with 
Ahab. Now, notice the battle at Ramoth 
Gilead in verses 30 to 38. There are four things we ought 
to consider. First, the disguise of Ahab. 
That Ahab proposes this ought to ring bells in the heads of 
those who read the Bible. there are two other men that 
utilize disguises in the former prophets. That means judges through 
second kings. Those two men were Saul, wicked, 
godless Saul, and then Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. That Ahab here 
now proposes to disguise himself while Jehoshaphat goes into battle 
in his royal robes, again, should have caused Jehoshaphat a great 
deal of concern. And it also occurs to us, or 
it should occur to us, that Ahab is hedging his bets. He believes 
the 400 false prophets. He rejects the true prophet Micaiah. So why don't you go into battle 
with your royal robes? If you think these 400 men are 
true, and if you think Micaiah is the liar, then you ought not 
to want to go in disguise. You ought to want to march right 
up to the front lines, because you know that Ramoth Gilead is 
there for the taking. But he's hedging his bets. He 
doesn't have that peace in his heart and soul that causes him 
to march into battle with his royal robes. He's got that sinking 
feeling. and the treachery of this disguise. I believe that he knew specifically 
that Ben-Hadad was gunning for him. As we move through the narrative, 
the instructions from Ben-Hadad to his Syrian army is don't bother 
with anybody else than the king of Israel. What's Ben-Hadad's 
reasoning? We kill him and we break the 
back of the Israeli armies or the Israelite armies. We can 
put them down by simply dispatching Ahab. I suspect that Ahab knew 
that and therefore Ahab doesn't want to wander in to the battle 
with reference with reference to that understanding. Again, 
Matthew Henry. He says, see what those, Jehoshaphat, get that 
joined in affinity with vicious men, whose consciences are debauched 
and who are lost to everything that is honorable. How can it 
be expected that he should be true to his friend that has been 
false to his God? You see, he is basically telling 
Jehoshaphat, I want you to wear your royal robes so that the 
aggression of the Syrian army will be directed at you. I'm 
just going to go ahead and sort of, you know, dress up like a 
common soldier. I'm just going to dress like 
a regular, normal, ordinary guy. He's telling Jehoshaphat, I want 
you to go out there and get killed and slaughtered by the Syrian 
army, if that is indeed their intention. This is a wretched 
man. This is a vile man. And yet Jehoshaphat 
keeps going. You kind of want to read this 
passage and scream at Jehoshaphat, or at least encourage him to 
stop. Don't do it, Jehoshaphat. Ahab's 
a bad dude. Don't do it, Jehoshaphat. Ahab 
is a fearful man. Ahab is a coward. Ahab is leading 
you out as the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter. Go back for 
just a moment in verse 4 of 1 Kings 22, when this alliance was first 
initiated with reference to this battle at Ramoth Gilead. Jehoshaphat 
said to... so verse 4 at the beginning. 
So he said, Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, will you go with me to fight 
at Ramoth Gilead? Jehoshaphat said to the king 
of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses 
as your horses. Well, that's a terrible thing 
to promise to a man that's as godless and as wretched and as 
wicked as this Ahab. This is what Henry says. How can it be expected that he, 
Ahab, should be true to his friend, Jehoshaphat, that has been false 
to his God? Brethren, if people hate God, 
they're opposed to God, they're enmity with God, more often than 
not, they're not going to be good friends. They're not going 
to be loyal. They're not going to be true. They're not going 
to be the kinds of people that you can count on. They're the 
kinds of people, however, that are opportunists. They're the 
kinds of people that will willingly sacrifice you on the field of 
battle. We need to be wise. We need to 
mix our piety with good sense. Again, I think that's Jehoshaphat's 
problem. He's a pious man. He's a godly 
man. That's why we're going to continue 
past the death of Ahab to consider this man Jehoshaphat, but he's 
a man that's lacking in some sense at this particular juncture 
in his career. Now notice, secondly, in terms 
of the battle. We see the plan of the Syrians in verses 31 to 
33. The command to target only Ahab. Notice in verse 31. Now the king of Syria had commanded 
the 32 captains of his chariots, saying, fight with no one small 
or great, but only with the king of Israel. Did Ahab get wind 
of that? Did he have intel? It sure seems 
that way, because he doesn't want to dress like the king of 
Israel. He knows their purpose and plan. He knows that they're 
targeting him. He knows that he's got the crosshairs on him. And so the king of Syria makes 
this statement to his soldiers, and then notice specifically 
with reference to verse 32. It says, so it was when the captains 
of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat that they said, surely it is 
the king of Israel. Therefore, they turned aside 
to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. See, Ahab's plan worked, 
didn't it? Isn't that just sad sometimes? 
You know, you see this world, you see wicked people, and sometimes 
what they do actually works. Now, it doesn't, and we'll see 
how it's all frustrated, and how God, in His sovereign providence, 
deals in such a way as to bring good, even out of a terrible 
situation. But at least surface level. I think this is, you know, 
Asaph's trouble in Psalm 73. Asaph's looking around at the 
righteous, and they seem to be suffering. He looks around at 
the unrighteous, and they seem to be, you know, no problems. 
They got summer homes. They got nice cars. They have 
the best phones. They got everything. Good jobs, 
good wives, good kids. Everything's going great for 
them. Asaph laments over this because at least on a service 
level it looks like the bad guys are winning It wasn't until he 
went into the sanctuary of the Lord It wasn't until he got God's 
perspective on life and he realized doubt has set them in slippery 
places But in this particular instance Ahab's plan is working 
Ahab says I'm going to disguise myself I want you to put on your 
royal robes and that's precisely what happens the Syrians find 
him the Syrians think that he's the king of Israel the Syrians 
are going to dispatch Now the parallel in 2 Chronicles shows 
us more of the Lord's intervention in this particular exchange. 
Notice in verse 32 again. So it was when the captains of 
the chariots saw Jehoshaphat that they said, surely it is 
the king of Israel. Therefore they turned aside to 
fight against him and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it happened when 
the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king 
of Israel that they turned back from pursuing him. In 2 Chronicles 
18.31. We read, so it was, when the 
captains of the chariot saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, it is the king 
of Israel. Therefore they surrounded him to attack, but Jehoshaphat 
cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from 
him. Now, that's certainly the meaning 
here in 1 Kings 22, but it's amplified for us in 2 Chronicles. And I think there's a practical 
lesson for us to discern in this particular exchange, and it's 
simply this. We ought to mix piety with good 
sense. That ought to be our pursuit. 
That ought to be our goal. We ought to be godly men and 
godly women, praying for general wisdom and specific wisdom for 
the various issues in our lives. We ought to have that combination 
in our hearts, but we also ought to recognize the graciousness 
of our God to deliver us at times, even when we lack good sense. You see, God didn't owe Jehoshaphat 
this. God didn't owe him the diversion 
of these Syrian troops. Jehoshaphat had entered into 
an alliance with a guy that nobody should have entered into an alliance 
with. He's lacking good sense. But the grace of God is magnified 
or manifested in this reality. Sometimes you and I do foolish 
things. Sometimes you, well, maybe you 
don't. You're all looking at me a bit puzzled. Sometimes I 
do foolish things and I praise God for His graciousness that 
it doesn't end as calamitous as it could have or should have. 
Has that ever been your experience? Have you ever done something 
really foolish and found out, boy, God nevertheless is gracious. He blessed me in spite of me. He doesn't bless us sometimes 
because of us. He blesses us in spite of us. So you see, the grace of God 
is evident in Ramoth Gilead at the deliverance of Jehoshaphat, 
king of Judah. He lacks good sense, but he has 
a gracious God. He lacks good sense, but he has 
a merciful father. He lacks good sense, but when 
the Syrians are hot on his trail, God the Lord diverts them. God 
the Lord disperses them. God the Lord preserves Jehoshaphat. He truly is gracious. He truly 
is good. Now notice, thirdly, this random 
bow shot in verse 34. This random bow shot in verse 
34. Now, a certain man drew a bow 
at random. In our studies this morning of 
divine providence, we know there's no real thing as randomness or 
luck or chance. Everything that happens happens 
according to God's plan, God's purpose, God's decree. In other 
words, a leaf doesn't blow across the sidewalk apart from God's 
decree. You know, Jesus says that God 
knows how many hairs are on our head, and that's not because 
he spends Thursday counting. Jesus says that a sparrow doesn't 
fall apart from the will of your Father in heaven. The language 
here is the language of man. It's an accommodation to us. 
There's no randomness in this world. There's no chance. There's 
no luck. We don't pray to God that we'll 
have a lucky day. The randomness or the reference 
to randomness here is specifically spoken to us in the manner of 
man. It's an accommodation to us. 
And we ought to appreciate the randomness was not absolutely 
random. I mean, a Syrian soldier drew 
his bow and launched an arrow at an Israelite soldier. So it 
wasn't, you know, just haphazard some guy out in the middle of 
nowhere just happens to do. There is a battle. And this Syrian 
soldier draws his bow, lets an arrow fly toward an Israelite 
target. He doesn't know that that target 
happens to be Ahab. But the randomness was seen in 
the arrow hitting both the right person and the right place. of 
divine providence. He governs all his creatures 
and all their actions. God is sovereign over a random 
arrow in this particular battle. Verse 34, now a certain man drew 
a bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints 
of his armor. So this random bow, this random 
arrow rather, is seen hitting the right person and the right 
place. If you've ever doubted God's 
sovereignty, you really should read the former prophets. Next 
time you fight with an Arminian on Facebook, point him to this 
passage. Ask him, is God sovereign over all things? Well, yeah, 
but not everything. Well, he's sovereign over this 
arrow that finds its place in the right spot in the right man 
on the field of battle. A man who, by the way, is disguised, 
a man who's not wearing the royal robes, a man who's offered up 
Jehoshaphat as the sacrificial lamb, a man that has taken pains 
to not be found out on the field of battle, and this man pulls 
his bow, shoots his arrow, and it finds the right target in 
the right place. Listen to John Gill. But though 
He did this in His simplicity, as the Word signifies, without 
any intention to smite any particular person, yet God directed the 
arrow to the man He had marked for destruction, and neither 
His disguise nor coat of mail could secure from that. and smote 
the king of Israel between the joints of the harness, of which 
the pieces of armor on him were joined together, the higher and 
lower parts of it, the breastplate, and what covered the belly. And 
though these were joined as close as they were capable of joining 
them in those times, yet the arrow, guided by divine providence, 
found its way into his body. Do you know what that arrow illustrates? 
Do you know what that arrow demonstrates? Certainly God and His sovereignty, 
certainly divine providence, but up to this point in the narrative, 
it illustrates the veracity, the truthfulness, the sureness 
of God's Word. 1 Kings 21, Elijah the Tishbite 
tells him he's going to die. 1 Kings 20, the unnamed prophet, 
verse 42, tells him he's going to die. 1 Kings 22, the first 
half of the chapter, Micaiah, the man who only speaks what 
the Lord tells him, tells him he's going to die. So that random 
bow shot, that random arrow, demonstrates the veracity of 
the Word of God. It shows us that what He says 
will most certainly come to pass. Davis says Yahweh's Word comes 
to pass almost casually. It is not the order of the king 
of Aram that disposes of Ahab, but the decree of Yahweh, and 
that in the most accidental way. Ahab was plated all over with 
iron and brass, but there is always a crevice through which 
God's arrow can find its way. That's what we call the inerrancy 
of the Word. Matthew Henry said, no armor 
is of proof against the darts of divine vengeance. Case the 
criminal in steel, and it is all one. He that made him can 
make his sword to approach him. That which to us seems altogether 
casual is done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
God. It's a beautiful thing. Not that 
this man died on the field of battle, though he was a wicked 
man, and the righteous should rejoice when the wicked are dispatched. But what's beautiful is the reality 
that God's word is true. God's word is sure. It is a word 
that one can sink his teeth into. It is a word that we can have 
confidence in. That random arrow finding its 
mark in the right man and in the right spot. should illustrate 
for us that those who come to Jesus will not be frustrated. They'll not be turned away. If 
the God of 1 Kings chapter 22, the God who caused that arrow 
to find Ahab, that God tells us that all who come to me I 
will in no wise cast out, we can have the same sort of confidence 
with John 6.37 that we have with these statements concerning the 
death of Ahab. It comes to pass just as surely 
as God had spoken. And it comes to pass just as 
surely as Jesus promises that those who come to me, I will 
in no wise cast out. Now, notice in terms of the battle 
at Ramoth Gilead, fourthly and finally, the death of Ahab, in 
verses 35 and following. Well, beginning in verse 34 in 
the middle. So he said to the driver of his chariot, turn around 
and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded. And then he 
says, the battle increased that day and the king was propped 
up in his chariot. He was most likely propped up 
for morale. Morale, you don't want the Israelite 
army to see its king dying bleeding out So he's propped up so that 
the king or the the Israelite army will still fight on will 
still try to liberate Ramoth Gilead will still engage the 
Syrians on the field of battle so he's propped up but he is 
bleeding out and And he ultimately dies, and he dies in the manner 
consistent with what the Tishbite had said. Notice in verse 36, 
it says, Then as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout 
the army, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his 
own country. And then we find the king died, 
verse 37, and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the 
king in Samaria. Then someone washed the chariot 
at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while 
the harlots bathed, according to the word of the Lord which 
he had spoken. Now the text does not demand 
that Ahab's blood be shed at Jezreel. Naboth's blood was spilled 
outside of Jezreel. Ahab's blood is spilled outside 
of Samaria. I think that's the connection 
between what the Tishbite prophesied in 1 Kings 21 and what we find 
in this particular passage. The reality is the Word of God 
is fulfilled, and He bleeds out. Notice this reference in verse 
38. Someone washed the chariot at 
a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up His blood while the 
harlots bathed, according to the word of the Lord which He 
had spoken. Now, for those of us who aren't real keen on these 
idioms, it's basically saying business as usual on this particular 
day as the blood of Ahab has been spilled. Davis explains, 
at any rate, the biblical writer saw no major rubs between 2119 
and 2238. Some suggest that what the Tishbite 
says in 21 is inconsistent with the death of Ahab. It's not consistent. It is fulfillment. But he says, 
or he would have never claimed the latter fulfilled the former. 
And he says, in what a moment, dogs feverish for every trace 
of blood, prostitutes calmly preparing for the night's work. 
Some things go on even when kings die. And then finally, this summary 
concerning Ahab in verses 39 and 40. Now, this is intriguing 
because oftentimes you get sort of statements about Ahab. I mean, 
he reigned for 22 years. Was everything he did bad? Probably 
not. I mean, if a fellow reigns for 
22 years, at some point along the line, he probably gets something 
right. And I think that's what verse 
39 alludes to. Notice. Now, the rest of the 
acts of Ahab and all that he did, the ivory house which he 
built and all the cities that he built, that's a good thing, 
right? If you were one that dwelt in those cities, you were probably 
thankful for King Ahab and his building projects so that you 
had a place now to hang your hat and rest your weary bones. 
He says, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles 
of the kings of Israel? He's saying that there were accomplishments 
that Ahab had done. There were good things that Ahab 
had done, but the emphasis in 1 Kings 16 to 1 Kings 22 is not 
on the good things that Ahab had done. There's only one thing 
that is important for the writer in Kings, and that is, how does 
he fare with reference to the Word of God? How does he measure 
up with reference to the Word of God? Not can he build an ivory 
house and not can he build cities, but is he obedient to the divine 
Word? That's the standard by which 
these kings are judged. That's the standard by which 
these men are reminisced on. And this, again, is what we ought 
to take away from it. Davis, one final time, says, 
look back over the six-plus Ahab chapters, and you cannot miss 
the focus of the biblical writer. For him, there is only one question 
about Ahab that has any consequence. How did he stack up beside the 
word and commandments of God? It is the issue of Matthew 7, 
24 to 27. Matthew 7, 24-27 are the two builders, the one who 
built his house on the sand, the other who built his house 
on the rock. The one who built his house on the sand is that 
who heard the Word of Christ and didn't do it. The one who 
built his house on the rock is the one who heard the Word of 
Christ and did it. He goes on to say, verse 39 shows 
us that the Word of God ignores what we regard as significant 
and prizes what we regard as mundane. See, the issue isn't 
in terms of the kings of Israel. What did they build? How did 
they administrate? How did they do wonderful things? Or how did 
they do the various things that they did? The issue is, did they 
obey the word of God? Did they build their house on 
the rock? So that's the death of Ahab. 
Let's look finally and quickly at the reigns of Jehoshaphat 
and Ahaziah. Not a lot here concerning Ahaziah, 
but let's look at Jehoshaphat. Notice the details of his reign 
in verses 41 and 42. He was the son of Esau. In 1524, we find when Asa dies, 
he has Jehoshaphat. But then at that particular point, 
beginning in chapter 16 or about halfway through chapter 15, the 
spotlight shifts from Judah over to Israel. So we've been in the 
northern kingdom up until this particular time, and now the 
spotlight's back, at least for this moment, on the southern 
kingdom, which is Judah. So Jehoshaphat is the son of 
Asa. Now note the description of his 
reign in verses 43 and following, his religious policy, verse 43. 
He walked in all the ways of his father Esau. He did not turn 
aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord." 
It's an amazing statement, isn't it? He's doing what is right 
in the eyes of the Lord. You mean even when a man engages 
in things that aren't full of good sense, he can receive this 
summary statement? I think we'll learn something 
here about God. He's a whole lot nicer than we are. He's a 
whole lot kinder than we are. Somebody does one thing wrong 
with reference to us, and it's done over their Beelzebub's brother. They're just the worst. Terrible 
people. Well, Jehoshaphat does some fundamentally 
flawed things in this section. He joined with Ahab, and yet 
the overarching testimony concerning him, with reference to God the 
Lord, is that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 
Middle of verse 43, nevertheless, the high places were not taken 
away, for the people offered sacrifices and burned incense 
on the high places. You read the parallel in 2 Chronicles, 
you might be confused, because it says that he did take away 
the high places. I think Matthew Poole sort of 
harmonizes it well. The high places devoted to paganism 
were dashed down. The high places devoted to Yahwehism 
were nevertheless remaining intact. So that's kind of how you understand 
those statements that seem a bit paradoxical or contradictory. But notice as well, his civil 
policy is outlined in verse 44. We've already seen this. Also, 
Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. Again, not a 
bad thing altogether. I think kings ought to really 
labor to be peacemakers. I think kings ought to try to 
have alliances, and they ought to not want to be warring, and 
they ought to want to maintain for their body politic and others, 
an environment of peace. But to enter into an alliance 
with Ahab is simply not a good plan. God delivered him, again, 
not because of Jehoshaphat, but in spite of Jehoshaphat. And 
then in terms of his ethical policy, verse 46 indicates, It 
says, "...and the rest of the perverted persons who remained 
in the days of his father Esau, he banished from the land." The 
prohibition against these perverted persons is found in Deuteronomy 
23, 17 and 18. In Esau's time, he banished these 
perverted persons as well, and we see it here with reference 
to Jehoshaphat. Now, in terms of these perverted 
persons, a particular Bible dictionary says, many considered that the 
processes of nature were controlled by the relations between gods 
and goddesses. By engaging in sexual intercourse 
with devotees of the shrine, they believed that this would 
encourage the gods and goddesses to do likewise, with the result 
that a person's desire for increase and herds and fields, as well 
as his own family, could be realized. So these perverted persons were 
the types of people that would have relations in order to get 
the gods and goddesses to perform and do good things upon the land. Baal was a god that was that 
way. Baal and Asherah were allegedly 
consorts, and the worshippers would fornicate to try to get 
Baal and Asherah to fornicate, and then there would be good 
things that would come as a result. Again, this is bad. It's horrible. This is the kind of religion 
that Israel bumped into in Canaan. And yet, they were told to reject 
it, to have no truck with it, and they embraced it. They imbibed 
it. They engaged in it. It didn't 
vanish when Esau banished the perverted persons. It's already 
back here at the time of Jehoshaphat. It is going to come back later, 
post-Jehoshaphat age. His foreign policy is indicated 
in verses 47 and following. He relates or continues relationships 
with the nation of Edom when there was no king. And then in 
terms of his policy with Ahaziah, he doesn't enter into it according 
to this. He gets quite close and in somewhat 
of a league with Ahaziah in Chronicles. But here he says no in terms 
of Ahaziah's participation with him. in this particular sea battle. And then finally, look at Ahaziah. 
There's only really one thing to say about him. He followed 
the wicked examples in his life. I mean, there are exceptions 
to the rule, and we see that in the kings of Judah specifically, 
but for the most part, the sons followed the patterns of the 
fathers, and we see that here with reference to Ahaziah. Ahaziah, 
verse 51, the son of Ahab, became king over Israel in Samaria in 
the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned 
two years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the 
Lord. and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of 
his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat." Those 
three terrible influences in his life. Father Ahab, Mother 
Jezebel. I mean, this poor kid. I mean, 
that's just terrible, isn't it? Who's your dad, Ahab? Who's your 
mom, Jezebel? Wow, you know, can we pray for 
you? We feel sorry for you. He just 
had it rough. But nevertheless, there are kings 
that emerge even when they had godless parentage. But in this 
instance, he follows suit. So it's godless Ahab, godless 
Jezebel, and godless Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. The end of 
the description of his life is somewhat inevitable. Verse 53, 
for he served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord God 
of Israel to anger according to all that his father had done. Matthew Henry says, miserable 
are the children that not only derive a stock of corruption 
from their parents, but are thus taught by them to trade with 
it. And unhappy, most unhappy parents are those that help to 
damn their children's souls. That's a very powerful statement 
that we should all take heed to as parents of children. Well, 
in conclusion, the death of Ahab, he reigned 22 years. According 
to verse 39, there were some accomplishments along the way. 
He built an ivory house, and he built cities, and there were 
some things that probably prospered the Israelite nation, but that's 
not what's in view in terms of the author of 1 Kings. What's 
in view is he didn't listen to the word of God. He had Elijah 
the Tishbite and he rejected him. He has the unnamed prophet 
in chapter 20 and he rejects him. He has Elijah again in chapter 
21 and he rejects him. He has Micaiah, a man that's 
gonna tell him the truth and he rejects him. And at some level 
in his heart of hearts, he at least showed a willingness to 
hedge his bets because what Micaiah said must have affected him for 
him to disguise himself and put Jehoshaphat out into the battlefront 
as the sacrificial lamb. The wickedness of Ahab exceeded 
those before him and set the standard for wickedness for his 
posterity. Look at 1 Kings chapter 16. When 
we first meet Ahab, that is what is told to us. 1 Kings 16, verse 
31. And it came to pass as though 
it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel, the daughter 
of Ephbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and 
worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple 
of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden 
image. Ahab did more to provoke the 
Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were 
before him. Now, that's a terrible prize 
to get. I'm worse than Jeroboam, the 
son of Nebat. I have now become the benchmark 
for evil in the nation of Israel. The downfall of Ahab was ultimately 
connected to his rejection of the word of the Lord. It wasn't 
the superiority of the Syrian army. It wasn't the superiority 
of Ben-Hadad. It wasn't the superiority of 
their strategies on the field of battle at Ramoth Gilead. Remember, 
it was a random bow. It was a random arrow that flew 
under God's divine sovereignty and found its mark in this man 
and in his armor. As well, we ought to appreciate, 
we need wisdom. If any of you lacks wisdom, let 
him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach. 
The fact that you're godly doesn't necessarily mean that you have 
good sense. If you lack good sense, pray 
to the Lord who gives good sense. If you lack good sense, study 
Scripture more so that you'll have good sense. Jehoshaphat 
is walking blindly into a destruction zone, and it's God who basically 
grabs him by the collar and yanks him out of the field of battle. 
God is gracious and God is good, and there are a multitude of 
times that God undertakes on our behalf, even when we've exercised 
a lack of judgment, but God, or rather, we ought to pursue 
wisdom and good horse sense. And then finally, we ought to 
appreciate in this passage the sovereign judgment of God. He 
will get his Ahab. I mean, six chapters are devoted 
to Ahab. 22 years are devoted to Ahab. 
For us, 22 days seems like an eternity, doesn't it? You're 
waiting for something, and it's 22 days away, and you're thinking, 
I don't know if I'm going to make it. Not so much when you're 
older, you don't really care anymore. But when you're young, 
it's like 22 days. I don't know if I can wait that 
long. 22 days is nothing. 22 years is really nothing, but 
it seems like a long time. Think of bad government officials 
reigning or ruling for 22 years. Then you can sort of appreciate 
just how long it is. So you might be inclined along 
the way to say, well, the Lord has forgotten. The Lord's not 
going to require it. The Lord's not going to demand. 
The Lord's not going to bring his judgment to bear upon this 
wicked king. Oh, yes, he will. You know, when 
I was growing up, the only thing I knew about Canada was that 
it was up there. That was it. And then it was 
cold, and that everybody lived in igloos, and that the Mounties 
always got their man. I moved up here, and I found 
out you don't even really call them Mounties. It's the RCMP. Everybody in America calls them 
Mounties, but here you call them RCMP. But that was in my head. 
The Mounties always get their man. Was that their motto at 
one time? Is that how they sort of got 
drummed up business or recruiting ploys? Hey, we always get our 
man. They don't. Just read any newspaper. Just 
drive the city streets. The Mounties don't always get 
their man. But God Most High does. Even 
if it's a random arrow on the field of battle in Ramoth, Gilead, 
when every attempt has been made to evade that arrow. Ahab didn't 
go into this battle willy-nilly. Ahab actually showed an ingenious 
approach to the battle. He suspected that Ben-Hadad was 
gunning for him and him alone. So he takes off his royal robes, 
convinces Jehoshaphat to wear his, so that Jehoshaphat will 
be viewed as the king of Israel. So Ahab took pains to avoid death 
on the field of battle. One man pulls back the random 
arrow and it finds its mark in the right man in the right spot. God always gets his man. The only way we can hide from 
the wrath of God is at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The 
only place of safety, the only place of security, the only place 
where we'll be shielded from those arrows of God's holy wrath 
is at the cross of Jesus Christ. Let us find ourselves there, 
hiding behind that one who is altogether lovely and chief among 
10,000. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your Word, and we thank you for these lessons 
that we can learn from these kings in the Old Testament. And 
I pray that you would give us not only piety, true piety, but 
also good sense, good judgment, good wisdom as we live our lives. 
Help us to do so in a manner that is consistent with the revealed 
will of God in Holy Scripture. We ask that you would go with 
us now, that you would provide and protect us in this coming 
week, that you would bless our brothers and sisters that are 
struggling, that are encountering various trials, and God help 
each and every one to persevere and to bring glory and honor 
and praise unto you. And we ask this in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, why don't we close by standing 
and singing the doxology in praise to our triune God? We'll stand 
and sing the doxology together. ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow ♪ ♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise him above 
ye heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ Amen. Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Go with us now, Father, 
help us to know these truths in our own hearts and in our 
own lives, and how we thank you that so often you deliver us, 
not because of our goodness, but in spite of our foolishness. Give us grace, God, to pursue 
the things that are pleasing in your sight and do undertake 
when we do engage in folly. and behavior that is inconsistent. We can't rest upon that, but 
certainly we can trust in the graciousness and in the kindness 
and in the goodness of our Heavenly Father. Go with us, we pray, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.